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Yesterday the UN Security Council heard from more than fifty speakers on the perpetuation of gender-based violence in war. Thoraya Obaid, head of the UN Population Fund, chastised the counsel for not implementing programs that would provide protection to women in conflict areas.“From Afghanistan to Liberia, from Colombia to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, from Burundi to Darfur — the list goes on and on — women and girls, and even men and boys, are being subject to sexual violence, torture and slavery that defy the imagination and bring into sharp focus the cruelty that human beings can inflict on each other. It is truly sad, and terribly angering, to see the tremendous needs. But it is even more shocking to witness the response so far, which remains completely inadequate.“
What actions could the UN take to provide a more adequate response? Well, I think Undersecretary-General for Peacekeeping Jean-Marie Guehenno was on the right track when he disparagingly noted that, “women constitute only 1 percent of military personnel in U.N. peacekeeping operations, and peace processes and negotiations remain overwhelmingly male-dominated arenas.” In fact, out of the 27 U.N. special representatives in charge of U.N. peace operations, only two are women. While I don’t believe that placing women in these positions of power would necessarily change the landscape of the problem, it *is* a step in the right direction.
Intensely disturbing is Guehenno’s observation that *this year alone* in the Congolese city of Bunia, 70 allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse were made against U.N. peacekeeping personnel. Until the UN deals with the issue of sexual assault among its “peacekeepers”, I’m hard-pressed to understand how it can “protect” women from more systemic forms sexual violence. (sigh). Thoughts?
Check out Jessica’s piece on What’s (not) being done in the Sudan for more discussion on violence against women as a war crime.

The ‘‘Protecting Our Communities from Gang Violence Act of 2018’’ Act, introduced in the House of Representatives last month by Republican Lee Zeldin of New York, would allow the U.S. government to revoke the citizenship status of naturalized immigrants who have been or are affiliated or associated with a criminal gang.

The bill stipulates that an immigrant’s citizenship status can be called into question by a determination “that an alien does not exhibit good moral character based on gang membership, association, affiliation, or provision of material support” within ten years of becoming naturalized. In a press release, Zeddin cited the “the rise of MS-13 and other gangs” as the impetus for proposing the bill and also stressed the need to “crack down on . ...

The Georgia state legislature is considering a bill that would allow adoption agencies to turn LGBTQ couples away. That’s how much they hate us: they’d rather leave kids in foster care then let them be in our loving homes.

SB-375, also known as the “Keep Faith in Adoption and Foster Care Act,” would allow child-placement agencies to refuse to work with potential parents if it violates their “sincerely held religious beliefs.” As opponents pointed out on the Senate floor last week, it’s obvious who the bill is targeting: if passed, taxpayer funded adoption agencies would be free to turn away qualified LGBTQ ...

The Georgia state legislature is considering a bill that would allow adoption agencies to turn LGBTQ couples away. That’s how much they hate us: they’d rather leave kids in foster ...

In the wake of the 20th anniversary of the Starr investigation that publicly exposed Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky’s relationship, Monica Lewinsky has written a powerful and compelling essay for Vanity Fair on her relationship with former President Bill Clinton, discussing hauntingly its skewered power dynamics, and the trauma and isolation she experienced subsequently.

The growth of #MeToo as a powerful movement collecting women’s voices on all manners of trauma — from rape to sexual assault to the sorts of sexual traumas we are unwilling or unable to classify into legal categories — exists in sharp contrast to the media treatment of Lewinsky just twenty years ago. Lewinsky’s role in what was deemed a ‘scandal’ of Presidential proportions ...

In the wake of the 20th anniversary of the Starr investigation that publicly exposed Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky’s relationship, Monica Lewinsky has written a powerful and compelling essay for Vanity Fair on ...

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